Random News: September 12, 2023

DISCLAIMER: Zak's Random News is very random and doesn't cover many things, and not everything may be accurate, because I'm just some guy. Go find a real news source.

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Good morning. It’s September 12, 2023, and it’s a Tuesday. I had a night full of bizarre dreams and I woke up a bit stressed out, but this delicious coffee and putting together some news for you should get me squared away pretty well.

• Let’s start with a big chunk of good news.
• The US Food and Drug Administration yesterday gave the green light to updated COVID-19 vaccine booster shots from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech.
• These updated mRNA vaccines teach the body to fight the XBB.1.5 Omicron subvariant of the coronavirus and other closely related strains that are currently circulating.
• The vaccines are each approved for people 12 and older and are authorized under emergency use for individuals 6 months through 11 years old. As part of the FDA’s update, the original bivalent Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines are no longer authorized for use in the United States.
• “The public can be assured that these updated vaccines have met the agency’s rigorous scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality. We very much encourage those who are eligible to consider getting vaccinated.” - Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research
• I remember the day I got vaccinated against COVID for the first time. It was literally on the first day of eligibility for my age group, which was April 1, 2021. What a great feeling it was, knowing I’d be protected against this killer pandemic.
• I want to give you a reminder: the more times you contract COVID, the chances of you getting long-term symptoms go up exponentially.
• I’ve had it once, in February of this year. I never got it in the three years before then (due to vaccination and social distancing and basic hygiene), and I never want it again. I’ll be getting the booster; so should you.
• Moving on…
• Attorneys for former president and current accused felon Donald John Trump want a new judge in his 2020 election interference case.
• I’ll bet they do.
• In a filing yesterday, they argued that Judge Tanya Chutkan should recuse herself from the case for previous statements they say give the appearance of bias. They did not outright accuse Chutkan of being biased against Trump, but highlighted statements they claimed "create a perception of prejudgment incompatible with our justice system."
• Here’s what happens in cases like this. The judge will almost certainly not voluntarily recuse, and then Trump's attorneys could petition an appeals court for a writ of mandamus, essentially an order requiring her to recuse. These efforts are not often successful.
• The Dumpinator also begged a court yesterday to dismiss several criminal charges against him in the Georgia RICO case. Motions like these are very common at the start of a criminal case, and they are also rarely successful.
• The tactics are obvious here. They’ll use every method on the books to delay El Dumpo’s trial. That’s fine; the wheels of justice may turn slowly but they do keep turning.
• Guess who spoke in defense of Donald Trump today?
• Why, it’s his pal, Russian President Vladimir Putin. He asserted this morning that the criminal cases against the FPOTUS that show the fundamental corruption of the United States.
• “Everything that is happening with Trump is the persecution of a political rival for political reasons. That’s what it is. And this is being done in front of the public of the United States and the whole world.” - Vladimir Putin.
• An endorsement by Adolf Hitler isn’t possible under the circumstances, but you know it would be in the headlines if it were.
• Who else got Putin’s praise? Why, Elon Musk, of course. “Elon Musk is undoubtedly an outstanding person. It must be admitted. I think the whole world admits it. He is an active, talented businessman.” 
• Jesus.
• Some other news in another Trump case.
• Yesterday, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows asked a judge to pause an order denying his attempt to remove his criminal case to federal court.
• Proper response: LOL no.
• As we reported over the weekend, on Friday U.S. District Judge Steve Jones ruled that Meadows had "not met even the 'quite low' threshold" for the jurisdiction change.
• If you’re keeping score, this is for the Fulton County, GA racketeering charges against Trump, Meadows, and 17 other defendants, brought be AG Fani Willis.
• Meadows’ lawyers whined, “Absent a stay, the state will continue seeking to try Meadows 42 days from now on October 23, 2023. If the State gets its way, Meadows could be forced to go to trial—and could be convicted and incarcerated— before the standard timeline for a federal appeal would play out.”
• Where’s my sympathy for Meadows? Oh right, I’m fresh out. Too bad, so sad.
• In a brief order yesterday, Jones gave Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis until noon today to respond. I’m going to enjoy that response.
• In other news…
• Yesterday, a federal court denied Alabama Republicans' request to pause a ruling last week that ordered them to strike down their congressional map and redraw it to create a Black majority district. The Court also added Alabama is "likely to lose on appeal."
• Let’s fucking goooooooo.
• A follow-up from recent reporting… Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ proposal to restrict the public’s access to records about her administration, travel and security stumbled at the outset of a special legislative session that convened yesterday.
• Fuck her. Her little ploy for working in secret is not only strongly opposed by the media and Democrats but also many of her fellow Republicans.
• President Biden was in Vietnam over the weekend to counter China's influence in Asia, paid respects to the site where John McCain was shot down in his Skyhawk, then went to Alaska to commemorate 9/11.
• I can barely do grocery shopping and laundry each week. Biden may be 80, but he has more energy than me.
• Anyone else seeing a bunch of cybersecurity issues lately?
• Computer systems owned by MGM Resorts International were down yesterday following some kind of computer attack on its casinos and hotels.
• The incident began Sunday and impacted reservation systems and casino floors in Las Vegas as well as Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York and Ohio.
• In other news, I’ve got a tip for you: if you do some kind of online sex work, it will likely at some point become public knowledge, especially if you then run for office.
• Susanna Gibson, a candidate running for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates in a district just outside Richmond, had sex with her husband in live videos shown on Chaturbate, a porn site, and asked viewers to pay them money in return for carrying out specific sex acts.
• Gibson’s attorney pointed out that in sending recordings of the videos to the press, a crime may have been committed by her political opponents.
• A 2021 Virginia Court of Appeals ruling that found it was unlawful for a man to secretly record his girlfriend during a consensual sexual encounter even if he did not show the video to other people. The court found that consent to being seen is not the same as consent to being recorded.
• And now, The Weather: “Breakdown” by Sea Lemon & Day Wave
• In the USA, devastating flash flooding in Leominster, MA last night led to a state of emergency after rains inundated roads, created sinkholes and damaged homes.
• In weather elsewhere, deadly floods swept through northeastern Libya over the weekend, with the top official in the region warning that the toll could exceed 2,000 dead as rescue teams searched for survivors. More than 5,000 to 6,000 were missing.
• Hot business tip: never use 9/11 for a marketing promo. Seems like no company would be that stupid and tone-deaf, right?
• Wrong. Sports betting company DraftKings apologized yesterday for using a 9/11-themed promotion that required three New York-based teams — the Yankees, Mets and Jets — to win their games yesterday, the 22nd anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon and the downing of a passenger jet in a field in Pennsylvania.
• Once people pointed out that they were being spectacular shitheads, DraftKings took down their "Never Forget” promo and wrote, “We sincerely apologize for the featured parlay that was shared briefly in commemoration of 9/11. We respect the significance of this day for our country and especially for the families of those who were directly affected.”
• Do you, though?
• Here’s a lucky person.
• A man was climbing the snow-capped summit of Mount Taranaki on New Zealand's North Island Saturday when he lost his footing and slipped… and fell 2,000 feet.
• The unidentified climber somehow landed in a deep, soft snow bank and was basically fine. He sustained a few minor injuries. Holy fuck.
• Elon Musk and Grimes have welcomed a third baby in secret. At some point, they welcomed a third child, a son named Techno Mechanicus.
• The dude has 11 children. Sigh.
• Alissa McCommon, 38, who is a teacher in Tennessee, has been arrested and charged with raping a boy at her home in 2021. Authorities say she's accused of sexual misconduct with "multiple juveniles."
• McCommon is accused of having a sexual encounter with a boy aged 12 years or younger at her home in 2021. C’mon people. Be better.
• Got a chart for ya. It’s this date in 1973, and here’s the top of the Billboard album charts. Damn.
• 1. Brothers And Sisters (The Allman Brothers Band). 2. Chicago VI (Chicago). 3. We're An American Band (Grand Funk Railroad). 4. Killing Me Softly (Roberta Flack). 5. Touch Me In The Morning (Diana Ross). 6. Innervisions (Stevie Wonder). 7. The Dark Side Of The Moon (Pink Floyd). 8. Foreigner (Cat Stevens). 9. A Passion Play (Jethro Tull). 10. Los Cochinos (Cheech & Chong). 11. Long Hard Climb (Helen Reddy). 12. Deliver The Word (War). 13. Diamond Girl (Seals & Crofts). 14. Houses Of The Holy (Led Zeppelin). 15. The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get (Joe Walsh). 16. Machine Head (Deep Purple). 17 Fresh (Sly & The Family Stone). 18. There Goes Rhymin' Simon (Paul Simon). 19. The Captain And Me (The Doobie Brothers). 20. Made In Japan (Deep Purple).
• From the Sports Desk… last night was the first Monday Night Football game of the new season, and it was the much-publicized debut of Aaron Rodgers as the new QB for the New York Jets, who were hosting the Buffalo Bills. Here are Aaron’s first four snaps on his very first drive as a Jet…
• Breece Hall - left tackle, pushed ob at NYJ 38 for 26 yards. Aaron Rodgers - pass incomplete deep right. Aaron Rodgers - pass incomplete short right. Aaron Rodgers - sacked at NYJ 33 for -10 yards. Rodgers was injured during the play. He is out.
• Rodgers suffered what is feared to be a significant Achilles tendon injury. If so, it is not unlikely that at age 39, he’s played his last game in the NFL.
• Rodgers’ official stats as a Jet… C/ATT: 0/1, Yards: 0, Average: 0.0, Touchdowns: 0, Interceptions: 0, Sacks: 1-10 yards, Rating: 39.6
• The Jets still won the close game under backup QB Zach Wilson. The Bills looked awful.
• Today in history…  Premiere performance of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 in Munich with a chorus of 852 singers and an orchestra of 171 players (1910). Leó Szilárd conceives the idea of the nuclear chain reaction (1933). Cave paintings are discovered in Lascaux, France (1940). The People's Republic of Korea is proclaimed, bringing an end to Japanese rule over Korea (1945). U.S. Senator and future President John Fitzgerald Kennedy marries Jacqueline Lee Bouvier (1953). Jack Kilby demonstrates the first working integrated circuit at Texas Instruments (1958). ‘Bonanza’ premieres, the first regularly scheduled TV program presented in color (1959). South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko dies in police custody (1977). Dwight Gooden sets the baseball record for strikeouts in a season by a rookie with 276 (1984). Hurricane Gilbert devastates Jamaica then fucks up Mexico (1988). Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-47 has Mae Carol Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, onboard (1992). NASA confirms that its Voyager 1 probe has become the first manmade object to enter interstellar space (2013).
• September 12 is the birthday of activist Samuel Joseph May (1797), inventor Richard Jordan Gatling (1818), UK prime minister H. H. Asquith (1852), journalist H. L. Mencken (1880), actor Maurice Chevalier (1888), publisher Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. (1892), athlete Jesse Owens (1913), actor Ian Holm (1931), singer-songwriter George Jones (1931), singer-songwriter Maria Muldaur (1943), activist Leonard Peltier (1943), singer-songwriter Barry White (1944), drummer/composer/lyricist Neil Peart (1952), composer Hans Zimmer (1957), singer-songwriter/pianist Ben Folds (1966), actor/comedian Louis C.K. (1967), actor Paul Walker (1973), singer/actress Jennifer Hudson (1981), and NFL player Andrew Luck (1989).

As usual, there’s much more news than I have time too relate to you, but hopefully you learned some stuff. I know I did. Enjoy your day.